Brake-beam.



PATENTED OUT. 30, 1906.

E. R. INMAN.

BRAKE BEAM.

APPLIOATION FILED JULY 26. 1905.

kw H-P I/inane:

SEW WM EDWARD R. INMAN, OF FRANKLIN, PENNSYLVANIA.

BRAKE-BEAM.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 30, 1906.

Application filed July 26, 1906. Serial No- 271,305.

To all wham it may concern:

.Be it known that I, EDWARD R. INMAN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Franklin, in the county of Venango and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Im rovements in Brake-Beams, of whichthe fo lowing is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

My invention relates to improvements in I brake-beams for railway-brakes and will be fully understood from the following specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification, and in which- Figure 1 is a plan view of my brake-beam. Fig. 2 is an end view of same. Fig. 3 is a rear elevation. Fig. 4 is an enlarged section on line 4-4 of Fig. 1 Fig. 5 is a front view of the central portion of the beam at and near the fulcrum. Fig. 6 is a section of the beam at 6 6 of Fig. 3. I

My invention lies in the peculiar form of the cross-section of my beam and its particular adaptation to withstand the vertical strain due to the impingement of the shoe upon the periphery of the car-wheel when the brakes are set and in the manner of reinforcing it to sustain the pressure at the center of the beam, due to setting the brakes.

The specific'form of a cross-section of my beam proper may aptly be described as W- sha ed, withv the junctional oints I and J wel rounded and the outer egs L forming the major portion of a semicircle, as illustrated in Fig. 6, wherein the circle of which said legs form a portion is shown in dotted lines.

In mounting the brake-heads and fulcrum upon my beam they are preferably so located that the edges E are in compression and the points J are in tension, which arrangement rings the outer channels C to the rear and the intermediate channel 0 to the front or brake-head side of the beam, as is clearly illustrated by the section at Fig. 4.

The manner of reinforcing my beam is substantially as follows: The front fulcrumblock 1 is provided upon two opposite sides with the extension or bolster 2, which is Ve sha ed in cross-section, extends longitudinal y of the beam, and fits closely with the channel C The rear fulcrum-block 3 is provided upon two opposite sides with the double bolsters 4 4, which also extend longitudinally of the beam and occupy the channels C,

each bolster bearing upon the bottom of the channel which it occupies. Bolster 2 may be riveted to the beam, if this construction should be found more conducive to rigidity; but I do not confine myself to this feature of construction, and be it understood that either the front or the rear bolsters could be omitted without departing from the spirit of my invention.

The fulcrum 5 is provided with the head 6 and the stem 7, (shown in dotted lines,) and both fulcrum-blocks and the beam are provided with alined holes through which stem 7 extends. The outer end of stem 7 is threaded for the reception of a nut 8, and when said nut is firmly screwed up the beam is securely clamped between the fulcrum-blocks and the bolsters form a rigid reinforcement which prevents any appreciable deflection for the amount of strain which the beam is practically required to withstand.

In nearly all brake-beams in use at the present day provision has in some way been made to sustain the strain applied at the fulcrum in setting the brakes, but a strain transverse .to this is caused by the impingement of shoe upon the periphery of the car-wheel, and this strain, which is a vertical one, has

thus far been almost wholly disregarded in the construction of brake-beams. It will be noted that my beam is especially designed to withstand this strain, the vertical axis of it being greater than the transverse axis, and the reinforcements at the center assist somewhat in sustaining this strain.

Theprecise manner of attaching the brakeheadsto my beam is immaterial; but in the drawings, more especially in Fig. 2, I have shown a head having a recess with concave walls to fit the convex face L of the legs L of the beam and a lug c to enter the channel C, and upon the op osite side of the beam is placed a block 9, liaving the double lu s' c c, which conform to and enter the channdl C C. Abolt 10 is then passed through all three. members, and the head is thus firmly se cured to the beam.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A brake-beam of w-shaped cross-section, having rounded junctional points and the outer legs forming the major portion of a semicircle.

2. A brake-beam of w-sha ed cross-section, in combination with the ulcrum-blocks located centrally of said beam, there being bolsters upon said blocks which extend longitudinally of said beam and seat in the channels thereof.

3. The combination with a brake-beam, of

'fulcrumblocks, located upon the tension and compression sides of said beam, said blocks being provided with bolsters which cooperate to reinforce the beam against the strains of tension and compression.

4. The combination with a brake-beam, of

means centrally located upon each side thereof, to reinforce said beam against both the strains of tension and compression.

EDWARD R. INMAN.

Witnesses:

ROBERT N. SPEER,' JOHN BLEAKLEY. 

